Manas, the Chinese AI startup that had to unwind its merger with Meta earlier this year, is in talks to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation now that it has restarted operations as an independent company, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources.
Potential investors in the round include IDG Capital, Boyu Capital, battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, as well as existing backers Tencent, HSG and Zhenfund, the magazine reported. Manas is also said to be considering restructuring plans in preparation for an IPO in Hong Kong.
Manas, which made headlines last year with its AI agent demo, moved its employees to Singapore in mid-2025 before announcing a $2 billion acquisition deal with Meta in December of the same year. At the time, the startup was said to generate more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue.
However, growing concerns within China about losing AI talent and researchers to Western countries led the Chinese government to block the deal on the grounds that it could violate export controls and foreign investment rules.
Manas has since parted ways with the US social media giant, with early investors and backers reportedly helping the company buy back its own shares at a valuation of about $2 billion.
The company told users in August that as part of its separation from Meta, it would need to delete data generated after the Meta acquisition to “comply with regulatory requirements in certain jurisdictions,” so users would need to export and back up their own data.
The company announced this month that it would relaunch as an independent operation and that its founding team would continue to lead the company.
Manus makes AI products and agents that are very similar to those offered by companies such as OpenAI, Lovable, and Replit. It offers chatbots and vibecoding tools that allow users to build apps and websites, create designs and presentations, generate videos, run browser assistants, and more.
Manas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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